The Taylorville Kiwanis Club heard from the co-director of the Taylorville Food Pantry at their Tuesday noon meeting at the Moose Lodge.

Pam Moses is co-director with Amy Hagen of the local food pantry, and told Kiwanis members the Taylorville location has seen increases in the number of families served over the past year.   She said 475 families from all over the area have taken advantage of the pantry, adding that with the cuts in LINK and SNAP benefits, more families are relying on the Taylorville Food Pantry to overcome food insecurity.

Moses told the Kiwanis Club many food pantries in the area ran low or ran out of food due to demand, and said that the Taylorville Food Pantry 5 years ago began an effort to make sure their shelves were always fully stocked.  

Due to USDA cutbacks, meat is no longer available to the local Food Pantry, but Moses said dry foods are still being offered to them.  Moses added the Taylorville Food Pantry is still a 100% volunteer organization with some 80 people working at the location 6 days a week. 

Kiwanis members remind the public to bring their non-perishable food and monetary donations to the Hart Media Group front parking lot on East Park Street this Saturday from 9am til noon, as the Kiwanis Club will again hold a Drive-Thru Donation Day to benefit the local Food Pantry. 

The Taylorville Kiwanis Club is part of a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.  Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays at noon at the Taylorville Moose Lodge.  For information on the club, go to taylorvillekiwanis.com.